Apple will require court order to give push notification data to law enforcement

Apple will now require a court order or search warrant to give push notification data to law enforcement in a shift from the previous practice of accepting a subpoena to hand over data.

In Apple's guidelines, which are made publicly available online, the company said the Apple ID, which is a user's Apple account, and the "associated records" related to the company's push notification service can be obtained by law enforcement through a court order or a search warrant approved by a judge.

Apple previously allowed authorities to obtain records associated with its push notifications through a subpoena, TechCrunch reported, which police departments and law enforcement agencies can issue without judicial authority.

The change comes about a week after Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, warning his office received a tip last year that foreign governments were requested Apple and Google for their records of smartphone notifications. Wyden argued users should be made aware when governments ask for information about their data.

Push notifications are used by a variety of Apple applications and third-party apps to alert users. As Wyden explained in his letter, push notifications are not sent by individual apps but rather through the smartphone's operating provider. Since Google and Apple serve as "intermediaries" for push notifications, they can store the data associated with the notifications.

Google already required a court order for law enforcement to get push notification-related data.

In a statement to The Hill, Wyden applauded Apple's move to match Google's policy.

"This is how oversight is supposed to work," Wyden said, adding later, "Apple is doing the right thing by matching Google and requiring a court order to hand over push notification related data."

It is not clear if something, like Wyden's letter, prompted Apple to change its guidelines. Apple did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.

For requests for some other types of data, such as information related to device registration, customer service or legal transactions, the company kept its initial guidelines that such data is available with "a subpoena or greater legal process."